Travel blog
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Cambodia’s landmine problem
Flipping through my Lonely Planet about Cambodia, I came across a section about what to do when you find yourself in a landmine field. I had never thought I would ever need such information, but in Cambodia, this is reality. Millions of landmines and unexploded bombs are estimated to still be in the country, laid in the Khmer Rouge period or dropped by American planes that wanted to destroy Vietnamese supply lines during the Vietnam war.
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On the Cambodian genocide
A first-time visitor to Cambodia is inevitably presented with two things: the splendor of the ancient temples of Angkor, which form the country’s prime tourist attraction, and a horrific recent history of genocide. In the 1970s, under the rule of the Khmer Rouge, a fourth of the population was killed. How to write about this? What to say, where to start?
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The temples at Angkor Wat
Number one on my personal must-see list for my trip to Southeast Asia was the temple of Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Once the splendid center of the capital of the Khmer Empire (Angkor was the name of the city; ‘Wat’ means temple), today attracting millions of visitors per year – to this day, Angkor Wat is the largest religious building in the world.
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Five days with the Mentawai
“I felt like I boarded a theme park attraction, but no – this was the real thing: we were transported an hour into the jungle, away from any cellular or internet connection, where we would spend the next five days living with the Mentawai tribe.”
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France’s second city: Marseille
I hadn’t seen a beach yet this summer, so I made my way to Marseille, France’s second-largest city. Known for its port and Mediterranean climate, the city is by many also linked to crime and drugs and its rebellious reputation. My tour guide made sure to stress that the city has made great strides using…
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![Cosmopolitanism in Dubai]()
Dubai: world’s least cosmopolitan city
Dubai is possibly the most international place in the world, with less than 10% of its inhabitants holding the local passport. But calling Dubai ‘cosmopolitan’ would be a mistake, based on a wrong understanding of the term and of reality of life in the Arab Gulf. In fact, Dubai is maybe the least cosmopolitan city there is.
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Schooling is not learning: the state of education in the Middle East
Being young is not always easy, but it is even more challenging if you happen to live in the Middle East. In this region, children and youth face more challenges than almost anywhere else in the world. And one of the very things they need to improve their own lives and advance society is what is affected the most: access to quality education.
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![A result of convivencia: the lion of Spain’s coat of arms appears as part of Islamic-style wall decoration in the royal palace in Seville.]()
Andalusia’s ambivalence: between convivencia and Islamophobia
The seven centuries of Islamic rule over the southern Spanish province of Andalusia are often romanticized for its convivencia: the peaceful coexistence of Muslims, Christians and Jews. Today, the region exploits this history for tourism, but is not devoid of Islamophobia.
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Identity and nationality in the Gulf
Few countries in the world have more foreigners than locals living within their borders. It is the case in the Arab Gulf states, where the majority of the population consists of immigrants: up to more than 85% in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. For the locals, this poses unique challenges to their concepts of identity and nationality.
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Amritsar: conflict and harmony
The city of Amritsar in north-western India is not big, but attracts more visitors than the Taj Mahal. The two main attractions are symbols of harmony and conflict, respectively: the Sikh religion’s holiest temple complex where everyone is welcome, and the nearby border with Pakistan where on a daily basis people on both sides assemble to celebrate the gates closing.
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A Sunday in Delhi: the difficult case for inter-religious dialogue
“Leaves falling from the trees, umbrellas appearing in the streets, and girls covering up their faces with scarfs: in New Delhi these are signs that the summer sun is arriving. In India’s hottest season, mornings have to be put to good use. Many a Sunday I would get up at six o’clock to visit the weekly Old Delhi book market, returning before the heat would become unbearable and in time for my weekly Bible group.”
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On India, poverty and religion
Different religions deal with poverty differently, and in India you find a lot of both. At one point or another, the visitor of the subcontinent will inevitably be faced with more misery than one can bear and the challenging question how to approach it. What answers do religions provide?
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Movie: Silence by Martin Scorsese
It is a mystery to me why Martin Scorsese’s 2016 movie Silence, about Christian missionaries in Japan, premiered at the Vatican. Although Scorsese is Catholic and at some point in his life even wanted to become a priest, it seems that more than just offering a historical account of an encounter between cultures and religions,…
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Field notes
What happens when academics go on a ‘field trip’? “Describing any impressions of such a brief moment is per definition more about our own experience than it can be an accurate account of the reality we were asked to report about. ‘Field notes’ as a description of what it is like to experience an unfamiliar environment for someone living in a university. A depiction of a glimpse of someone else’s everyday. In the name of knowledge.”
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In search of Buenos Aires
“My contemplations streamed into a gaping expectation of novelty that was not filled by Buenos Aires. As a European, I had covered inhumane distances to get here and yet it seemed I had only traveled in terms of time – some 24 hours – and not in space. It was not a New World; it was a copy of the old one.”
